Penny and Simon's lives changed forever when Griffin made his debut at 20 Willow Road in his Graco bucket seat wearing an oversized blue jungle print onsie back on that cold but sunny morning, Thursday January 13th, 2010. One of my biggest fears with having a baby (human), was how he would impact the happiness of my original babies (cats). Would Penny get really stressed out and poop in our tub or worse, in other places around the house? Would Simon try to climb in Griffin's crib to snuggle and then accidentally smother Griffin? Would Griffin be allergic to the cats? Well, I can say that our family of five is doing just fine, and Griffin and the cats are making progress toward getting along.
The first day we brought Griff home, I was attempting to nurse Griffin with my watermelon-sized-my-milk-just-'came-in'-boobs up in his nursery. Griffin wasn't happy, and his crying totally (and probably my crying) freaked out the cats. I vividly remember Penny and Simon nervously standing at top of the stairs trying to peek their heads around the corner into Griff's room to see what the f#*@ was making all that ruckus. Their tails were poofed, totally enormous, and the hairs on their spines stood up straight. Thankfully neither of them had any crazy reactions to the baby, but it did take them a little while to get used to having a new tiny (and loud) person around. I felt like for the first few months, when Tom and I would come home with Griffin after being out for a bit, we'd be greeted by Simon and Penny, who were really excited to see us, but they were also a bit disappointed that we brought Griffin back too. I felt like Penny would give me a slightly bitchy look that was saying "Really Mom? You really had to bring that baby back here?"
Now that Griffin's extremely mobile, and quite quick, the cats have to be on alert so they don't get whacked in the head or tackled by our toddler. He is still learning to give them "nice touches only". (Both of them bolt whenever they see Griff coming due to learning the hard way.) Griff really likes the "kitties", and thankfully he doesn't seem to take it personally that they scurry away whenever he approaches. Griff says "Goodbye Kitty" every time we leave the house, and he has been really interested in giving them kitty treats recently. (I'm hoping Griffin can bribe the cats for their love with crunchy tuna treats.) Griffin gets their treats container out of the cat food cabinet, walks to the bottom of the stairs, and mimics how I yell for "Simon", while shaking the treats. Then he fake snores to indicate that the cats are sleeping upstairs. It's too funny. Sometimes when the cats are awake, with my help, he'll gently set down a few treats and then watches Simon or Penny enjoy them (other times Griff puts a cat treat in his own mouth and chews until I fish the moist half eaten bit out with my finger.. totally gross.)
Penny and Simon's lives changed forever when Griffin made his debut at 20 Willow Road in his Graco bucket seat wearing an oversized blue jungle print onsie back on that cold but sunny morning, Thursday January 13th, 2010. One of my biggest fears with having a baby (human), was how he would impact the happiness of my original babies (cats). Would Penny get really stressed out and poop in our tub or worse, in other places around the house? Would Simon try to climb in Griffin's crib to snuggle and then accidentally smother Griffin? Would Griffin be allergic to the cats? Well, I can say that our family of five is doing just fine, and Griffin and the cats are making progress toward getting along. 
The first day we brought Griff home, I was attempting to nurse Griffin with my watermelon-sized-my-milk-just-'came-in'-boobs up in his nursery. Griffin wasn't happy, and his crying totally (and probably my crying) freaked out the cats. I vividly remember Penny and Simon nervously standing at top of the stairs trying to peek their heads around the corner into Griff's room to see what the f#*@ was making all that ruckus. Their tails were poofed, totally enormous, and the hairs on their spines stood up straight. Thankfully neither of them had any crazy reactions to the baby, but it did take them a little while to get used to having a new tiny (and loud) person around. I felt like for the first few months, when Tom and I would come home with Griffin after being out for a bit, we'd be greeted by Simon and Penny, who were really excited to see us, but they were also a bit disappointed that we brought Griffin back too. I felt like Penny would give me a slightly bitchy look that was saying "Really Mom? You really had to bring that baby back here?"
Now that Griffin's extremely mobile, and quite quick, the cats have to be on alert so they don't get whacked in the head or tackled by our toddler. He is still learning to give them "nice touches only". (Both of them bolt whenever they see Griff coming due to learning the hard way.) Griff really likes the "kitties", and thankfully he doesn't seem to take it personally that they scurry away whenever he approaches. Griff says "Goodbye Kitty" every time we leave the house, and he has been really interested in giving them kitty treats recently. (I'm hoping Griffin can bribe the cats for their love with crunchy tuna treats.) Griffin gets their treats container out of the cat food cabinet, walks to the bottom of the stairs, and mimics how I yell for "Simon", while shaking the treats. Then he fake snores to indicate that the cats are sleeping upstairs. It's too funny. Sometimes when the cats are awake, with my help, he'll gently set down a few treats and then watches Simon or Penny enjoy them (other times Griff puts a cat treat in his own mouth and chews until I fish the moist half eaten bit out with my finger.. totally gross.)
